Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 03.djvu/621

* BROOKLYN. 545 BROOKLYN. Avenue, from which some trains are run over the ■elevated tracks and the Brooklyn Bridge to Man- hattan; it will shortly, however, build a tunnel with a terminus in the heart of ilanhattan. Parks, Boulevards, and Cemeteries. Brook- lyn has a large number of parks and parkways throughout its extended area. In the older closely built section the largest, Washington or Fort Greene Park, is in the Hill district, im the site of the Revolutionary earthworks known as Fort Greene. This park contains only about 30 acres, but has been called the nwst lieavitifil small park in the United States. The crest of the hill affords a magnificent view of the first city and one of the finest harbors in America, the na"y-yard, and other points of interest. From this" point the ground slopes in grassy terraces, beneath which arc the remains of the American Revolutionary prisoners who died on the prison ship Jcise;/. South from the older sections, but near the present geographical centre of the bor- ough, is Prospect Park, the largest of the Brook- IjTi parks, which takes rank with Fairmount, Central, and Druid Hill parks among early exam- ples of municipal enterprise in this field. Pros- pect Park is not so large as those of some cities, but its 516 acres contain many natural beauties in its lake, fine old trees, wooded hills, and broad meadows: while its drives, ponds, playgrounds, gardens, and other embellishments have been laid out with taste and care. The lake, of Gl acres, is attractive for boating in summer and for skating in winter: and Lookout Hill, 185 feet above the sea, commands an extensive view of Xew York Harbor and Long Island, The principal entrance is at Flatbush Avenue, and the circular plaza in front is adorned by a large fountain and the im- posing memorial arch in honor of the soldiers and sailors of the Civil War, surmounted by a large quadriga by FrederickMacmonnies. Within the park, near the entrance, is a statue, also by Macmonnies, of J. S. T. Stranahan, the creator of the Brooklyn park and boulevard system. At oth- er points are statues of Lincoln, J. Howard Payne, Thomas Moore, and Washington Irving. A tablet in Battle Pass commemorates the battle of Long Island, and a monument on the slope of Lookout Hill, the memory of the 400 Maryland troops who fell in that battle, a great part of which was fought within the park limits. From the Plaza east runs a boulevard 200 feet wide, called East- ern Parkway. Xear the southern entrance begins (he Ocean Parkway, a niagnificent speedway with separate paths for bicycles and horses, leading to Coney Island, S'-j miles distant. Forest Park, in the northeastern part of the borough, contains 535 acres and is noted for its superb views and fine trees; there are also, in various other sections, smaller preserves, of which Tompkins, Winthrop, and Bedford parks are prominent examples. West of Prospect Park, on a high ridge over- looking the bay. is Greenwood Cemetery, of 475 acres, the principal burving-ground in Brooklyn and the most beautiful in the country, rich in handsome monuments and mausoleums, many of them erected in honor of persons of world-wide fame. The Cemetery of the Evergreens and Cypress Hills Cemetery, also, are worthy of mention. CufBCHEs; Charities; Schools and Libra- ries, The social life of this city of homes centres largely in the churches: and JBrookh-n has long been distinguished for the number of these, and for the brilliant and able preachers secured to preside over the congregations. Among the widely known Brooklyn preachers of the past may be mentioned esi)ecially Henry Ward Beecher and Lvman Abbott, of Plvinouth Church, T. Deitt Taimage, Richard S. Storrs, Theodore L. Cuyler, and .J. A. F. Behrends. In addition to the private charities of the churches, many of the larger duiritable insti- tutions have ecclesiastical relations. There are also many institutions entirely undenomina- lional: and altogether Brooklyn has some iwenty-four dispensaries, eleven homes for the aged, twenty-five orphan asylums and industrial schools, six nurseries, several homes for in- curables and consumptives, and an inebriates' home. Of some twenty hospitals. Long Island College, Saint Mary's, and Saint Peter's are of particular interest. There are also several train- ing schools for nurses. At Flatbush are the pub- lic institutions., consisting of the almshouse, hospital, and insane asylum, the last now part of the State system. Kings County penitentiary, one of the six in the State, is also in this local- ity. Brooklyn is celebrated for its educational facilities, both public and private. Among its private schools are the Packer Institute for girls and the Polytechnic Institute for boys, each with some 600 students, and Adelphi College (co-educational), with about 150 students in the collegiate department. Pratt Institute, with an endowTiient of $3,600,000 from its foimder, fur- nishes manual and industrial training. Among other institutions are two Roman Catholic col- leges, the iledical School of the Long Island College Hospital, and the Brookhii College of Pharmacy. The public schools of Brookl^Ti hold high rank, the system including a ilanual Train- ing High School, a Commercial High School, a Girls' and a Boys' High School, a truant school, and a training school for teachers, A unique or- ganization is the Brooklyn Institute of .rts and Sciences, developing from an association founded in 1823, chartered under its present name in 1843, and reorganized with a larger scope in 1887- 88. Its aim is the education of the people in all branches of the arts and sciences by means of lectures, classes, and collections. It includes some twenty-five departments, each of which holds class meetings and public lectures, and its curriculvmi resembles that of a large university.. One section of an immense museum building has already been built by the city on a conspicuous site near Prospect Park. Brooklyn has numerous libraries, among which are: the Brooklyn, the Brooklyn Public, the lilirary of the Brooklyn Institute, the Law Library of the Second .Judicial District, the Long Island Historical Society Library, the Kings County iledical Society Library, the Pratt Institute Librarv, the librarv of the Union for Christian Work," and the Y. M. C. A. and Y. W. C. A. libraries. Theatres and Clubs. There are half a dozen theatres in Brooklvn. of which the Park is the oldest, and the Montauk and Colunibia the finest: but these do not compare with the metropolitan houses in Manhattan. In music, however. Brooklyn has always had a high reputation; and there are a niimber of societies which secure the presence of the strongest mu- sical talent in the countrv. The Boston Svm-